


The Divine Comedy (not Dante's one)

by toumaki_chan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Library, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Falling In Love, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Slice of Life, Word Count: 5000 - 10000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-11 00:14:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5606320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toumaki_chan/pseuds/toumaki_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starting University, Armin takes up a job at the campus library, befriending the somewhat eccentric librarian, Miss Zoe. What started as a way to help fund his education leads him to meeting a self-entitled young man who pesters him daily but leaves a sense of curiosity with Armin as to this boy's story. This short 3 part fic follows the winding path to friendship and further, set in modern day England.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Divine Comedy (not Dante's one)

When Armin turned up to his interview at the library two months ago, what he didn’t expect to find was the Librarian to be an curiously youthful and enthusiastic character - not in the best of hygiene , sadly – but vocally passionate about books and the information held within them. Given, she was more into the scientific research pieces and was habitually found spinning wildly in the seat behind her desk reading ‘The Complete History of Prehistoric Nature’ (and occasionally articles online of genetically modified mutant spiders), she still cared sincerely for the library and all of the books within – even the “flowery and pitiable classics” as she described them.

“Mr Arlert?” she had asked as he walked in for his interview, to which he nodded professionally in response.

“I’m Madam Zoe, as this here suggests,” she commented, tapping a bronze name plate perched on her desk, “but just call me Hanji.”

“Hanji, pleasure to meet you. I’m Armin.”

“So, you’d like to work at the university library?”

“I would indeed.”

“So tell me, Mr Arlert-”

“Oh,” he interrupted, “just Armin, please.”

Smiling thoughtfully from behind her glasses, “Armin,” she corrected. “What makes you want to work here? It’s not a typical student environment, unless it’s exam season, in which case you can’t get them out,” she chuckled.

“Oh, well I find books rather interesting. I never had a library in my hometown and this place is fascinating. Plus, I’m doing a course in History and Modern Literature, so this place would be a incredible resource for my studies.”

Hanji scribbled down viciously on a notepad that she had retrieved from amidst the clutter atop her oak desk and nodded excitedly.

“I see! What a great outlook you have. I too love books, not the mushy kind or the thrillers; non-fiction is the best.” Although Armin struggled to comprehend what on earth Hanji was doing in a library if she didn’t like novels and poetry, he agreed contentedly, contributing his limited knowledge on the old hunter-gatherer ways of society as Hanji babbled on about evolution and anthropological advancements. Clearly history was a mutual area of interest.

Since his recruitment, he and Hanji had participated in many a great discussion about history and she assisted him as he wrote his reports on The Early History of Man and he taught her to appreciate classical literature from the as far back as the Greeks. He even made her stop calling Charles Dickens an ‘empty headed bore’, an achievement that had been indubitably unattainable until that day. Other than his chats with Hanji the library was comparatively quiet, even during the weekdays when students came to study in the beautiful architecture to escape the sterile setting of the new university building. A professor of criminology called Levi passed through twice a week to check on Hanji and often cleaned her desk while she was on her lunch break in the hopes that when he came back to following trip, she would’ve increased her efforts to stay on top of everything. From time to time, he sorted the books in alphabetical order while he chatted to her between the corridors of literature and poetry manuscripts. Armin would’ve guessed they were _together_ if it weren’t for Levi bringing in his girlfriend Petra one afternoon to find a book (it ended up being 12 books) on tropical wildlife for her next exciting tour with her research team to the Amazon.

The only other regulars were a group of city boys who had evidently bought their way into the university and were riding on the coattails of their mother and father’s successes. At the heart of the group was a tall, tanned boy with scruffy honey blonde hair that looked dyed in comparison to the short, hazelnut shade of his undercut. His voice carried through the air very melodically for someone who spoke through his nose a lot, often singing of all the wine tastings and horseback riding events he had attended the previous weekend. Armin often wrinkled up his nose when they all materialized and camped out in the scientific research section with Hanji till they had done their two hours of Wednesday morning ‘study’.

“What a pretty lady you are,” the alpha had cooed on Armin’s 3rd shift from the other end of the modern medicine isle, the two boys behind him snickering spitefully as they paced down the aisle.

“Um, I’m a boy actually – my name’s Armin,” he had stuttered, keeping his eyes trained to the books he was sorting through, anxious of what face the boy might have been pulling. Was it challenging, teasing, confrontational... either way, it wouldn’t be a forthcoming expression. “Ah, what a puny boy you are,” he had remarked, taking Armin’s wrist and shaking it about. “And such feminine features too,” he snorted, before analysing the rest of Armin. “I take it you don’t come from money with attire like that either,” he ridiculed, turning to his companions who laughed at their friend’s ‘wits’.

“No, I managed to get into this university with my intelligence alone, unlike some empty-headed bores here,” he retorted smugly, proud of his comeback which was, of course, courtesy of Hanji. The alpha was at a loss for words, and hastily told Armin he could “kiss is arse” as he stormed out, broodingly. Hanji had high fived Armin, gifted him a brownie point for his courage (considering his timorous character) and bought him a tall latte to cheer him up.  

There had been few encounters following that event, typically just dirty looks thrown across the study hall some mornings; the alpha deliberately leaving a mess in the library to deal with, normally drinks cans and books from all corners of the library; passing comments in hallways and the likes. Armin couldn’t help feel exhausted from the petty, school boy attitude the group had, and after confiding in his seniors, Professor Levi told him to ‘give him a swift uppercut and get it over with’ and Hanji told him to keep the pressure high because it was useful for her informal research on aggressive human behaviour. Armin, a bit flustered by the premise of the suggestions, rejected the two proposals and instead decided to let the situation to resolve itself.

On a late Wednesday evening, Hanji had to be present at a staff meeting and had appealed for Armin to stay late that shift to close up for her and make sure the doors were locked and the lights were switched off. Armin, of course, approved. Outside it was unpleasantly cold; early November winds battling the branches on the trees that whipped the leaves against the window, making Armin quiver because it reminded him of something he saw in a horror movie with his roommate Connie a few weeks back. And it did not end pleasantly for the protagonist.

“Hello?” a voice called out. Armin jumped instantaneously at the echoing shout and rushed to the door of the office to greet the owner of the voice, heart rate gradually slowing down. A draft made the curtains at the front desk flutter in the wind and rolled a pencil off the desk. A silhouette leaned down to retrieve it as Armin protested; embarrassed a customer was doing him a favour rather than the other way around.

“No worries,” the man called as he crouched to the floor, struggling to grab the pencil through his thick gloves. Armin reached the desk, cheeks flushing pale rouge, and halted as he noticed a familiar tuff of ashy brown hair from the other side of the counter. Just as Armin realised who it was – and before he could run away – the man stood up and made eye contact with Armin, who looked just as distressed to work out the others identity as Armin was. 

“Oh. Um, here is the pencil,” he muttered, eyes glancing to the side as he dropped the green pencil atop of the desk.

“Thanks,” Armin wittered, scratching the back of his head and looking towards the ceiling.

“Is Madam Zoe not in tonight?” the boy asked uncomfortably, fiddling with the corner of his notebook that was sat on the wooden desk afore him.

“Oh - no she’s not, sorry,” Armin replied, taking a moment to register that it was Hanji he was talking about, “a staff meeting.”

“Um, I’ll just come back another time-”

“Wait, no! I’m sure I could help you out with whatever it is... are you looking for a certain book?” Armin cursed at himself inwardly for engaging in further conversation with the boy who had taunted him for the past two months, but this was his job to serve customers and he was going to do it well.

“Yes... but it’s okay, Madam Zoe knows about it, it’ll just be easier for me to come back tomorrow,” he commented as he salvaged his book at swiftly turned towards the exit.

“What’s the name of the book?”

“No, honestly, I’ll come back later-”

“Hanji isn’t in tomorrow either,” he lied.

“She isn’t?”

“No...” he confirmed, a little perplexed at why he lied, although deep down he must have known he was just trying to help him out so maybe he’d get off his case a little. A short silence emerged where the boy looked at the floor, weighing up his options and Armin held his breath a little, hoping he’d accept his offer.

“Dante’s Divine Comedy.”

Armin let out what little breath he was still holding and smiled warmly.

“It’s up the stairs, follow me.”

***

Armin dropped the book on the table that was a little dusty from Hanji’s neglect and Levi’s dislike of walking up stairs that had more than 20 steps, so never making it to the top the run a cloth over it. The boy had removed his puffy, winter coat and set up a work station equipped with highlighters, gel pens, post it notes – everythinghe could possibly need. Including a large flask of coffee – two sugars, no milk. Sat just to his right was his notebook that he was clutching earlier, from which Armin could just make out a name, written neatly in dark blue ink.

Jean Kirstein   
Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

“It’s Jean, isn’t it?” Armin queried, nodding his head towards the notebook.

“Yes, it is. You’re... Arnin?”

“Armin, with an M,” he corrected.

“Ah yes, sorry,” Jean corrected, looking vaguely uncomfortable about the whole situation. Clearly he wasn’t as keen to act up without his clique, although Armin had a hunch it was more to do with what book he was trying (with little success) to read. Dante’s Divine Comedy.

“It’s quite a read, isn’t it? I tried to read it once myself, but it was far too complicated and so I only managed to read about the first two circles of hell because I skipped Paradise and Purgatory,” Armin remarked, pulling out the chair opposite from Jean. Lights were dimly lit around the hall to save energy, but Jean switched on the electric table lamp next to him to see the text more clearly, not that it would do him any good when it came to understanding what the hell it meant.

“I’ve not read it before now,” Jean replied, scratching the side of his neck. Armin recalled from a conversation with Hanji he had that itching the one’s neck was a sign of lying... or having an itchy neck as Levi had joked.

“Oh? So why start reading it now... isn’t your degree in medicine?” Jean raised his head from the book and fixed his eyes on Armin, almost irately, but it passed and his grimace melted into a smile.

“It’s an after school literature course I’m taking,” Jean explained, “something to pass the time with after I’m done with my medical studies.”

Armin leaned back in her chair and covered his mouth, unsure of whether he was about to laugh or not. Not on purpose, of course, he’d never hurt someone’s feelings like that, but was Jean seriously that smart? Or was he just he considering switching degrees because medicine was too advanced? Either way, Armin had previously insulted his intelligence on their first encounter and felt a little guilty for doing so, seeing how hard Jean was working now.

“So, it’s like a hobby?”

“Something like that... it’s actually my preferred course but I’m fruitless in it and my dad is pushing me towards being a doctor or even a surgeon.” Armin smiled as he realised that Jean’s nasal tone had vanished and was replaced by a much warmer, amiable accent.

“Wow,” Armin remarked, “big dreams. Me – I want to become a historian when I’m older. Preferably in modern history, because I think it would help me understand the world better. Plus there’s a lot more evidence and less speculation because we have the what and from that it’s not too difficult to guess the why.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re working in a library?” Jean teased.

“No, I’m working in a library to pay for my accommodation, and so I can pay these things called bills. Aren’t you working?”

“I’m very blessed in that my Dad has that covered for me,” Jean admitted sheepishly, busying himself in organising his notes and planner.

“And did he also have your entrance fees covered, because by the looks of it you’re not getting far with that text?” Armin quizzed, feeling bubbles of anger brewing inside him as he thought back to Jean’s remarks before about his family situation, and that he wasn’t ‘from money’ like he was.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about this, I came here to study... I knew I should’ve just waited for Madam Zoe to come back.”

Armin’s stomach dropped as he realised he’d stepped over the line. _Shit,_ he thought.  Jean’s face turning pale and his eyes looking a little watery, Armin sure felt guilty as hell. Reaching for Jean who was trying to pack up his things across the table, he loosely caught a grip of his wrist and looked at him apologetically.

“Look, I’m sorry. That was out of line. Please, stay and study.” Jean kept his gaze firmly on the floor but sunk back down in the chair and flicked his wrist back to reach for a pen as Armin let go.

“Thank you,” Armin started, “I’d like to start over, if that’s okay with you. I think it’d be nice to re-introduce ourselves.”

Armin coughed a little, and bravely extended a hand towards Jean.

“Hello, my name is Armin. I’m a history and modern literature student and I’m very pleased to meet you,” he announced, grinning childishly. Jean couldn’t help break into a smile and grasped Armin’s hand with his own and shook it warmly.

“My name’s Jean Kirstein. I’m a medical school student and I’m sorry for how I acted before... and would like to ask for you help studying this book. Because I’m fucking hopeless.” Armin laughed melodically and gladly pulled out the chair next to Jean’s, relocating the electric lamp further across the table to allow enough light to illuminate to space in front of the two of them fully. Armin cradled the book in his hands and flicked to page one.

The first Canto of Paradise.  


End file.
